Printheads having nozzle plates made from a polymer material are known. For example, US Patent Application Publication No. US 2003/0052947 A1, published Mar. 20, 2003, discloses a printhead and a method for manufacturing a printhead in which a silicon substrate having a thermal element is covered with a photoresist layer or polymer material. The photoresist layer or polymer material form a barrier layer over the silicon substrate. A sandblasting process is used to make a slot on the silicon substrate. The slot forms an ink channel of the printhead. A photolithographic process is used to form a pattern on the barrier layer. The barrier layer is then etched to form ink cavities in fluid communication with the ink channel and form pillars located between the ink chambers. The barrier layer is then attached onto a polymer nozzle plate using a lamination process. The nozzles of the polymer nozzle plate are formed using a laser ablation or photoresist lithographic process.
However, the polymer nozzle plate can sink when it is laminated to the barrier layer, see, for example, FIGS. 1 and 2 of US Patent Application Publication No. US 2003/0052947 A1. This results in skewed ejection directions when ink is ejected from the nozzles of the polymer nozzle plate. The structural rigidity of the printhead can also be compromised especially when the printhead length approaches lengths commonly associated with page wide printheads. Additionally, alignment of the polymer nozzle plate to the structures in the silicon substrate can be difficult when the polymer nozzle plate is laminated to the silicon substrate.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,291,226, issued Mar. 1, 1994, also discloses an inkjet printhead that includes a nozzle member formed from a polymer material that has been laser ablated to form inkjet orifices, ink channels, and vaporization chambers in the nozzle member. The nozzle member is then mounted to a substrate containing heating elements associated with each orifice.
However, the laser ablation process is a relatively dirty process. Often, the polymer material needs to be cleaned after it has been laser ablated which adds cost and additional steps to the fabrication process. Also, it can be difficult to precisely place the features, created by the laser ablation process, over larger areas of the polymer material. Additionally, laser ablation is not a standard microelectronic process. As such, the complexity of the fabrication process, for example, the fabrication process for monolithic printheads with integrated electronics, is increased.